Hinge system for motor vehicle boot lid comprising an articulated arm and a sliding arm

ABSTRACT

The invention concerns a motor vehicle boot lid ( 3 ) articulated (in  6 ) to the ends of a first arm ( 7 ) mounted pivoting, at its other end, about a vertical lateral pin ( 8 ) integral with the body. Said lid moves from a closing position towards an opening position, substantially perpendicular to said closing position, via the first arm ( 7 ) having a curved shape, and a second arm ( 9 ) whereof one of the ends is secured to said lid and the other end is mounted pivoting on a sliding sleeve ( 11 ) mounted on a guide rail ( 12 ).

[0001] The invention relates to a motor-vehicle trunk door equipped witha novel hinge system provided with an articulated arm and a sliding arm.

[0002] Most motor-vehicle trunk doors are equipped with hingesarticulated on substantially horizontal pins, and they are opened by anupward rotational movement.

[0003] There are also known vehicles, generally of the utility type,which are equipped with a sliding door, the door being guided by a pairof lower and upper rails, each cooperating with rollers mounted on anarm, which itself is articulated on the door (European Patent A 401081).

[0004] The invention relates to a new hinge system for a motor-vehicletrunk door wherein the trunk door can be moved from closed position toan open position in which it is disposed along a rear fender of thevehicle.

[0005] More particularly, the invention relates to a motor-vehicle trunkdoor articulated at one of the ends of a first arm mounted pivotally atits other end around a vertical lateral pin integral with the chassis,characterized in that it is shifted from a closed position to an openposition, substantially perpendicular to the said closed position, bymeans of the first arm, which has curved shape, and of a second arm, oneend of which is fixed to the said door, while the other end is mountedpivotally on a slide (11) mounted in a guide rail.

[0006] According to one embodiment, the rail has the shape of an elbow,with a first portion oriented obliquely relative to the plane ofsymmetry of the vehicle and extending from an interior point of thevehicle floor to a point situated near the middle of the rear of thevehicle, and with a second portion extending from the said rear middlepoint, substantially parallel to the lower edge of the cutout of thetrunk door, toward the side on which the said vertical lateral pin ismounted.

[0007] The first arm has curved shape such that, when this arm pivotsaround its vertical lateral pin, its concave part substantially fits therear fender of the vehicle body, in the position corresponding to thefully open door.

[0008] The function of this arm is to move the trunk door from itsclosed position to its fully open position, in which the door isdisposed along one of the rear fenders of the vehicle. For this purposethe curved arm must be able to pivot by an angle of at least 180°,preferably by about 190 to 200°.

[0009] The function of the second arm is to control the kinematics ofthe door during pivoting of the first arm. In the absence of this secondarm, the door, which is articulated at the other end of the first armopposite the pivoting pin thereof, could be oriented in undesirablemanner and, in particular, could bump against the rear fender of thevehicle.

[0010] To this end, the second arm has such a length and the guide railhas such a shape that, during the initial stage of opening of the door,they cause the door to be shifted mainly in a direction substantiallytransverse to itself, after which they then make the door turn by about90° to ensure that it will be aligned along one of the rear fenders ofthe vehicle without damaging the vehicle body.

[0011] The door can be opened and closed manually or else by means of anelectric motor, which ensures pivoting of the curved arm around itslateral vertical pin integral with the chassis.

[0012] The present invention will be better understood from thedescription hereinafter, provided with reference to the attacheddrawings.

[0013]FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 are schematic views illustrating a trunk doorequipped with a hinge system according to the invention in closedposition, in slightly open position and in fully open positionrespectively.

[0014] In these figures there is illustrated the rear part of a motorvehicle 1 having a chassis 2. For clarity of illustration, the vehicleroof and the interior fittings (seats, floor) have been omitted. Thisvehicle is provided with a trunk door 3 of curved shape which, in closedposition, is received in a cutout 4. As regards the body, only the rearfenders 5 are illustrated. At its lower part, where it is articulated ona vertical pin 6, door 3 is connected to one of the ends of a curved arm7, whose other end is mounted pivotally around a vertical lateral pin 8integral with chassis 2 or with a member integral with this chassis. Thepoint of articulation of arm 7 on door 3 is situated approximately inthe left third of the width of the door.

[0015] The lower part of door 3 is also connected, close to its rightedge, in fixed manner, to one of the ends of a second arm 9, whose otherend is mounted pivotally around a vertical pin 10, which is itselfcarried by a slide 11 capable of sliding in a rail 12 fixed to thevehicle chassis. Slide 11 can comprise, for example, a support 13carrying pin 10 and mounted on rollers 14 that ensure sliding in therail. Rail 12 has the shape of an elbow, with a first portion 12 a,which is oriented obliquely (at 45° for example) relative to the planeof symmetry of the vehicle and which extends from an interior point ofthe vehicle floor to an elbow 12 b situated near the middle of the rearof the vehicle, and with a second portion 12 c, which extends from thesaid elbow, substantially parallel to the lower edge of cutout 4 of thedoor and toward the side on which pin 8 is mounted.

[0016] In closed position, slide 11 is situated at the end of portion 12a opposite elbow 12 b, as illustrated in FIG. 1.

[0017] The door is opened by pulling on handle 15 of the lock integratedin the door, with the effect of first releasing the lock and thencausing the door, in a first phase, to be shifted in a directionsubstantially perpendicular to itself; this shift results from the factthat curved arm 7 pivots clockwise around vertical pin 8 and that arm 9causes the door to pivot counterclockwise around vertical pin 10, theend of arm 9 opposite the door being subjected to displacement along apath determined by rail 12. FIG. 2 illustrates one of the open positionsduring this first phase. This first opening phase is complete when slide11 arrives at elbow 12 b of the rail. From that moment on, the combinedactions of arms 7 and 9 cause the door to undergo a rotation arounditself by about 90° which, in combination with the pivoting action ofcurved arm 7, causes the door finally to become aligned along the leftrear vehicle fender, without touching it, as illustrated in FIG. 3.

[0018] In an alternative embodiment, the door could be opened by meansof an electric motor that drives the pivoting of arm 7 and that isactuated by a control button provided on a control panel.

[0019] The door is closed by inverting the movements of the openingprocess.

[0020] In an alternative embodiment, not illustrated, the hinge systemfor a vehicle trunk door according to the invention can be integratedwith a door that can cooperate, via its end section closest to secondarm 9, with a second door. The two doors form a device that blocks thecutout giving access to the trunk.

[0021] The blocking device can be provided with two doors equipped withthe hinge system according to the invention or with one door equippedwith the hinge system according to the invention plus one swinging doorarticulated around at least one vertical pin. To improve the kinematicsof the doors of such a device, especially the independence of opening ofeach door relative to the other door, the end of first portion 12 a ofrail 12 not connected to elbow 12 b must be oriented obliquely, at anangle greater than 45°, relative to the plane of symmetry of thevehicle. As an example, this end can be oriented substantially parallelto the lower edge of the cutout, for example at an angle on the order of80° relative to the plane of symmetry of the vehicle. Thus, at thebeginning of the first opening phase, the door is caused to shift in adirection substantially parallel to itself and then in a directionsubstantially perpendicular to itself, as seen hereinabove.

[0022] The invention is of course not limited to the described andillustrated embodiments, which are provided by way of illustrative andnon-limitative examples.

1. A motor-vehicle trunk door (3) articulated (at 6) on one of the ends of a first arm (7) mounted pivotally at its other end around a vertical lateral pin (8) integral with the chassis, characterized in that it is shifted from a closed position to an open position, substantially perpendicular to the said closed position, by means of the first arm (7), which has curved shape, and of a second arm (9), one end of which is fixed to the said door, while the other end is mounted pivotally on a slide (11) mounted in a guide rail (12).
 2. A trunk door according to claim 1, characterized in that the rail has the shape of an elbow, with a first portion (12 a) oriented obliquely relative to the plane of symmetry of the vehicle and extending from an interior point of the vehicle floor to a point situated near the middle of the rear of the vehicle, and with a second portion (12 c) extending from the said rear middle point, substantially parallel to the lower edge of the cutout (4) of the trunk door, toward the side on which the said vertical lateral pin (8) is mounted.
 3. A trunk door according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it is opened and closed by means of an electric motor
 4. A trunk door according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it can cooperate with a second door to form a device that blocks the cutout giving access to the trunk.
 5. A trunk door according to claim 4, characterized in that the blocking device is provided with two doors according to any one of claims 1 to
 3. 6. A trunk door according to claim 4, characterized in that the blocking device is provided with one door according to any one of claims 1 to 3 plus one swinging door articulated around at least one vertical pin.
 7. A trunk door according to any one of the claims 2 to 6, characterized in that, close to the interior point of the floor, the first portion (12 a) of the rail (12) is oriented substantially parallel to the lower edge of the cutout (4). 